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Proposals would stiffen state's lax funeral home laws after series of gruesome cases, from sold body parts to fake ashesAfter nearly 200 bodies were found stacked and rotting in a Colorado funeral home, lawmakers have proposed bills to overhaul the state's threadbare funeral home regulations, which failed to prevent a string of gruesome cases - from sold body parts to fake ashes.The cases have shattered hundreds of families. Many learned that their loved ones' remains were not in the ashes they ceremonially spread or held tight for years but were instead decaying in a building or, in one case, the back of hearse. Continue reading...

With the presidential nominees all but assured, the celebrated ritual lacks suspense - but election could be the worst in modern history'Microphone in hand, Nikki Haley was delivering a well-rehearsed stump speech when a primal cry came from the audience. He cannot win a general election!" yelled a man, referring to Donald Trump and the ex-president's chance against Joe Biden. It is madness!"Haley supporters at a campaign rally in a tiny Washington hotel on Friday signaled their agreement. But they are in a distinct minority within the Republican party as the biggest day of this year's primary election campaign approaches. Continue reading...

Officials at Cairo talks say list is first step in truce deal as militant group demands aid into GazaEgyptian and Qatari officials are putting pressure on Hamas negotiators in Cairo to produce a list of hostages to be released as the first step in a phased ceasefire agreement with Israel, according to officials familiar with the talks.Israel has not sent a delegation to the second day of talks in Cairo, demanding that Hamas present a list of 40 elderly, sick and female hostages who would be the first to be released as part of a truce that would initially last six weeks, beginning with the month of Ramadan, the officials say. Continue reading...

Court's decision clears way for ex-president to appear on primary ballot in all states

This live blog is now closed. Read our latest full reports on the Israel-Gaza war and Donald Trump below:

Winter storm warning remains in effect through Wednesday morning with up to 12in more snow expected in the regionForecasters are warning that more snow is on the way for northern California mountains after a powerful blizzard that closed highways and ski resorts over the weekend had mostly moved through the Sierra Nevada by early Monday.The storm began barreling into the region on Thursday. A widespread blizzard warning through Sunday morning covered a 300-mile stretch of the mountains. Fierce winds - with gusts that reached up to 145mph in some areas - ripped down trees and power lines leaving residents in the dark. Continue reading...

Planes drop fire retardant on blazes that have destroyed up to 500 homes and businesses but weather change may offer some respiteFirefighters in Texas are battling strong winds and warm temperatures as they work to stop the largest wildfire in state history.The large Smokehouse Creek fire was 15% contained and two other fires were 60% contained. Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.The Associated Press contributed to this story Continue reading...

The Guardian speaks to two experts on state politics about how, if at all, the supreme court case affected voters and election workers

Opill is being shipped to retailers and pharmacies, and its arrival on shelves comes at a deeply fraught time for reproductive rightsOpill, the first birth control pill approved for over-the-counter distribution, is now being shipped to retailers and pharmacies, the company behind the pill, Perrigo, announced on Monday. It will be available in stores and online later this month.The Food and Drug Administration approved Opill last year, paving the way for the United States to join the dozens of countries that have already made over-the-counter birth control pills available. Opill, which works by using the hormone progestin to prevent pregnancy, is meant to be taken every day around the same time and, when used as directed, is 98% effective. Continue reading...

Investment fund's shares fell as it cut the value of its music portfolio - either sell-off or break-up loomsAnother bum note from Hipgnosis Songs Fund. The investment trust managed to put the decimal point in the wrong place in its much-anticipated announcement of what a new valuer thinks its catalogue of songs from acts such as Blondie, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shakira might really be worth. It meant 92p a share, but said 0.92 pence a share. A correction followed.The correction that long-term shareholders must dearly wish for is that Hipgnosis had never come to the stock market in the first place in 2018. Against a starting price of 100p, the revised net asset value looks poor, as opposed to shocking, but is only half the story. Continue reading...

US president tells New Yorker he is the only one who has ever beat' Trump but clear majorities think he is too old for second term

Manchester United were no match for City on Sunday. They will face far stiffer tests over the next four weeksManchester City, brilliant but oddly vulnerable; Manchester United, a mess but with the odd spark. It was, in the end, a Manchester derby that confirmed what we already knew. And the result is that the title race rolls on to Anfield on Sunday and, after four straight wins apiece in the league, a potentially seismic clash between City and Liverpool.By that point, Arsenal will have played Brentford at the Emirates next Saturday. Of which there are two things to be said: first that after next weekend there will be 10 games remaining and there haven't been three sides so tightly bunched at the top at this stage since 2010 (when after 28 games, Chelsea led United by a point with Arsenal two further back). And second, that if this is going to be a classic run-in, it needs the top teams to drop unexpected points, for there to be twists and turns, rather than the sort of procession of wins for the major contenders that characterised 2018-19. Continue reading...

Deal would have created fifth-largest US carrier but judge said it would harm consumers by reducing competitionLow-cost air carriers JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines canceled their $3.8bn merger agreement on Monday, seeing no path forward after a US judge blocked the deal in January on anti-competition concerns.A successful deal would have created the fifth-largest carrier in the United States and helped Spirit ensure its survival, but the deal had been on the ropes ever since a Boston judge said it would harm consumers by reducing competition. Continue reading...

I saw settlers attack Palestinian shepherds with dogs, destroy their crops, and steal their homes - all under the aegis of rightwing Israeli leadersThis month, the US, British and French governments placed sanctions on more than 30 Israeli settlers for acts of violence and incitement against Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. It was a historic move. Israeli and international human rights organizations have protested the lack of accountability for settler violence for years. Now these settlers, with documented histories of arson, theft, physical assault and destruction of property, will have their assets frozen, travel abroad restricted, and ability to do business constrained.These sanctions materially disrupt the machinery of settler violence and send perhaps the strongest signal yet to the Israeli government that it must curb attacks on Palestinian communities, because there will be consequences. But sanctions on just a few settlers won't solve the fundamental problem; these are not just a few bad apples. Sustained settler assaults on Palestinian lives and livelihood are part of systematic, longstanding Israeli government policy to push Palestinians off this land to expand settlements. It's the bad policy that produces the bad apples. Continue reading...

A powerful blizzard struck California and Nevada at the weekend, with snowfall of up to 3 metres expected in some higher areas. A stretch of Interstate 80 remains shut in both directions. Even as blizzards eased, more winter storms are expected for much of the region on Monday and Tuesday, the National Weather Service said Continue reading...

No evidence to tie fake images, including one created by Florida radio host, to Trump campaign, BBC Panorama investigation findsDozens of fake, artificial intelligence-generated photos showing Donald Trump with Black people are being spread by his supporters, according to a new investigation.BBC Panorama reported that the images appear to be created by supporters themselves. There is no evidence tying the photos to Trump's campaign. Continue reading...

The death of Aaron Bushnell has prompted much debate about the significance and impact of this particular form of protestWhen Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Pentagon in Washington last weekend, in protest against the situation in Palestine, he became an international story.An active-duty member of the US air force, Bushnell livestreamed his death, from the moment he said he would no longer be complicit in genocide" to the moment he poured fluid over himself and burst into flames.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Most Americans don't know the word, and critics say a ban won't work - without a cultural change, the sentiment remains'More than 23 years ago, a US border patrol official issued a warning: slurs against people crossing the border would not be tolerated". Four years ago, the group's parent agency issued guidance condemning one word in particular. Yet reporting last month found that it's still being used in the agency regularly - in shockingly callous ways.Tonk" is used as slang for a migrant. As the reporter Roque Planas writes at HuffPost, the consensus is that it refers to the sound of a heavy object, like an agent's flashlight, hitting a person's head. Continue reading...

Inspired by Michigan, Minnesota organizers are urging people to vote uncommitted' to protest Biden's support of IsraelDozens of families turned up to a Minneapolis park on Sunday to hear why they should cast an uncommitted" protest vote in Tuesday's presidential primary and how that could affect the Israel-Gaza war.Kids played on the playground or made signs to support Palestine while their caregivers listened as organizers shared an easy action": show up at your local polling place on Tuesday, ask for a Democratic ballot and check the box that says uncommitted". Continue reading...

Real friends don't expect instant feedback. They know you're busy slicing potatoes or loading the washing machineFew things bring me greater joy than someone taking two weeks to reply to a WhatsApp message. I mean it. This week, my friend and former teacher replied to a message I sent asking after his knee, with a very friendly and funny message. It had taken him a mere 24 days to respond. Glorious.Not only does that kind of slack immediately take any pressure off me to reply there and then, while trying to simultaneously slice a potato, open a box of magnets for my son, load the washing machine and turn down the radio; but it proves the two of us have enough mutual affection and respect that, at some point, we can just pick up where we left off. Have I replied to him yet? Of course not. I've had cables to untangle and rice to boil. But I will. Continue reading...

We're falling out of love with manual cars, says the DVLA. What will driving enthusiasts' have left to feel superior about now?You can do whatever you like when you're reviewing a car, because the cultural standard was set by Jeremy Clarkson. You're almost expected to ding it. I once took a whole hubcap off a Toyota Hilux and pretended I'd done it off-road on a caper, when in fact I'd backed into a pillar in a car park. The Hilux was somewhat longer than I realised; watch out for that.This being the case, I'd been doing the job for years without a moment's anxiety, not even when I took a Ferrari California T on the Isle of Wight ferry and its internal alarm thought it was being car-trafficked. And then I found myself in a Fiat Spider on a winding Italian road (lovely little roadster built off the Mazda platform) and I've never been so stressed in my goddam life.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The EU's influence over Netanyahu is limited but it could pressure an electorally vulnerable Joe Biden to stop the warEurope is flanked by two grotesque wars involving mass slaughter (Gaza is, after all, just 578km away from Cyprus), waged by far-right fanatics harbouring either imperial or colonial intentions, and for whom war has become inextricably tied up with holding on to political power. One war implicates European security directly; the other is a shot at projecting its voice in the world. On both, the EU must start acting like a foreign policy superpower - not just independent of the US but also capable of nudging its hand.It's striking how much images of Gaza and Mariupol look similar. Bombed-out and destroyed, as broken as the bodies of the thousands of civilians killed beneath Russian bombs in one place, and Israeli bombs in the other. Each has its particular horror - in Ukraine, the legions of abducted and transferred children, in Gaza, the now rampant risk of mass hunger confronting nearly 2 million people.Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist

Selling the game in Vegas was worth a try but pyrotechnics, booming music and its commonality to other sports won't work in the long runWith a doubleheader of games on Saturday night in cavernous Allegiant Stadium, only a few weeks removed from its duties as the Super Bowl venue, the NRL made a hard sales pitch for a US audience.I promise - I promise you are going to enjoy what we affectionately call the greatest game of all," intoned Australian commentator Dan Ginnane at the opening of Fox Sports' American broadcast of an Australian game being played on an American field in the otherworldly city of Las Vegas. Continue reading...

Houses, roads and cars in South Jordan have been hit by a swathe of invasive weeds after a strong spring stormTowns in Utah have been inundated with tumbleweeds that have blocked roads, surrounded houses and buried cars after a strong storm.South Jordan, which lies south of state capital Salt Lake City, is cleaning up after winds blew thousands of the plants through streets. Continue reading...

The western part of the United States has seen blizzards and high winds over the last few days with video showing tumbleweeds swarming across roads and overtaking homes and vehicles. Extreme weather has hit Utah, California and Nevada, causing widespread disruptions

Haley is the first woman to win a Republican primary, her campaign has said, but faces steep odds with Donald Trump expected to secure the nominationNikki Haley has notched up her first victory of the 2024 Republican primaries, after winning the vote in the District of Columbia.Haley, the only remaining challenger to Donald Trump, won 62.9% of the vote, versus 33.2% captured by the former president. Haley will pick up 19 delegates from her win, a small portion of the 1,215 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Continue reading...

A pair of horses temporarily slowed down traffic after escaping the Cleveland police stables and making their way to Interstate 90, the longest highway in the United States. Surveillance videos posted online by the Ohio transportation department showed the pair of horses weaving through cars in oncoming traffic.

The vice-president called for a ceasefire and the immediate release of hostages, in comments that appeared to be the strongest yet by a US leader on GazaUS vice-president Kamala Harris has bluntly called out Israel for not doing enough to ease a humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza as the Biden administration faces increasing pressure to rein in its close ally while it wages war with Hamas militants.Harris, speaking on Sunday in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where state troopers beat US civil rights marchers nearly six decades ago, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages in return for a 6-week cessation of hostilities. Continue reading...

Rogue pair temporarily slowed Ohio traffic after escaping Cleveland police stables and making their way to Interstate 90Motorists in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday were met with two horses running free down Interstate 90, the longest highway in the United States.The pair of horses temporarily slowed down traffic over the weekend after escaping the Cleveland police stables and making their way to the highway. Continue reading...

The bill sets a discretionary spending level of $1.66tn for fiscal 2024 and still faces opposition from hardline House RepublicansUS congressional negotiators on Sunday revealed a bill to fund key parts of the government through the rest of the fiscal year that began in October, as lawmakers faced yet another threat of a partial shutdown if they fail to act by Friday.The legislation sets a discretionary spending level of $1.66tn for fiscal 2024, a spokesperson for Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said. It fills in the details of an agreement that Schumer and Republican House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson set in early January. Continue reading...

College announces new member activities are suspended pending investigation of possible activities that threatened people's safetyProgram activities of fraternities and sororities at the University of Maryland have been suspended indefinitely, the university announced.The University of Maryland's decision comes after the University of Virginia suspended its Kappa Sigma chapter and all fraternity events following an alleged hazing incident last month which left a student injured. Continue reading...

Court did not specify what ruling, planned for Monday, will be issued, but decision to come a day before state's primary electionThe US supreme court plans to issue at least one ruling on Monday, the day before Colorado holds a presidential primary election in which a lower court kicked Republican frontrunner Donald Trump off the ballot for taking part in an insurrection during the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack.The supreme court, in an unusual Sunday update to its schedule, did not specify what ruling it would issue. But the justices on 8 February heard arguments in Trump's appeal of the Colorado ruling and are due to issue their own decision. Continue reading...

Donors raise more than $100,000 for man who gave his $17.74 paycheck for 136.50 hours of work to relief efforts in GazaDonors have raised more than $100,000 for an incarcerated man in the US who, earning 13 cents an hour in a California prison doing janitorial and porter work, donated his paycheck of $17.74 to Gaza relief efforts.Last month, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Justin Mashouf who has been in correspondence with the 56-year old man - known only by the name Hamza - shared photos on social media of Hamza's October time log and a check of $17.74 with the words, California department of corrections and rehabilitation." Continue reading...

From Rashford's screamer to Chelsea's struggles, we hand out honors (and dishonors) from the top-flight weekendPhil Foden is in the middle of the biggest heat check since Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things. He was the best player on the pitch in City's 3-1 win in the Manchester derby, finishing with two goals, including a now trademark stunner from the edge of the box. Continue reading...

Donald Trump confused Barack Obama for Joe Biden at a rally in Virginia, triggering further questions about the age of the likely Republican presidential nominee who has made a string of such gaffes. Trump said: 'Putin has so little respect for Obama that he's starting to throw around the nuclear word'. The crowd reportedly went silent as Trump referenced Obama, who left office more than seven years ago. It was the third time Trump had made the same blunder in the past six months

Largest fire in state history so far scorched 1.1m acres and killed two people, while thousands of livestock were killed or euthanizedFerocious winds continue to thwart firefighters across a broad swathe of Texas on Sunday where the second largest wildfire in US history is only 15% contained after six days.As of Sunday morning the Smokehouse Creek Fire has so far scorched almost 1.1m acres - 1,700 sq miles - across the Texas Panhandle in the north of the state, as well as tens of thousands of acres in Oklahoma. Continue reading...

Results are latest blow to Biden's election campaign which has faced a barrage of criticism over his ageA majority of voters in the US believe Joe Biden is just too old to be an effective president, according to a new poll by the New York Times and Siena College.According to the poll's results, 73% of all registered voters believe Biden is too old to be effective, in turn revealing spreading concerns about the 81-year-old president's mental competency. Continue reading...

Richmond crowd reportedly went silent as 77-year-old mixed up the president and ex-president for third time in past six monthsDonald Trump confused Barack Obama for Joe Biden at a rally in Virginia on Saturday, triggering further questions about the age of the likely Republican presidential nominee who has made a string of such gaffes.It also comes at a time of similar concerns about the Biden. At 77 and 81 respectively, Trump and Biden are the oldest people to run for the presidency in US history. Continue reading...

The progressive congresswoman doesn't have the funds of her opponents, but she has a record of being on the right side'Barbara Lee has never lost an election.That is quite a feat, given that she has built a career championing unpopular, even radical causes. Continue reading...

Candidate says she does not feel bound to Republican National Committee pledge anymore as RNC is now not the same'Nikki Haley on Sunday declined to say she would support Donald Trump in the coming presidential election if he won the Republican party's nomination to face Joe Biden in the race for the White House.The former South Carolina governor is the last serious opposition to Trump who seems almost certain to become the nominee, despite a raft of legal problems and the multiple trials he faces linked to his businesses, attempts to subvert American democracy and alleged hush money pay-offs to former lovers. Continue reading...